I found purchasing my Corvette through Roger's and importing it to Ontario a relatively straight forward exercise. The people at Roger's are very pleasant to deal with and the selection of quality low mileage Corvettes they have could never be found in Canada. Also, Orlando is a fun city to visit with lots to see and do.

Regarding your questions, I will try to deal with them one by one. Though it might appear complicated, it is really rather simple, and not unlike purchasing and licencing a vehicle in Canada. You just have to take the time to do some research and make a few preparations and arrangements, and the importation should be no problem.

To make a newer Corvette legal in Canada, all you need to do is have a daytime running light module installed. All other requirements (safety certificate, insurance, emissions test) are the same for any vehicle as if it was purchased in your own province.

The only taxes that you have to pay when you import a vehicle into Canada are those taxes that you would have had to pay as if it was actually bought in Canada. There are no duties or importation taxes. You only have to pay the Goods and Services Tax and your provincial sales tax, based upon the converted invoice price of the car. I was told that if you drive the vehicle back, you might be subject to local Florida state taxes, but I am not sure.

The price conversion in Canadian dollars is roughly 1.5 times the price in American dollars. The best thing to do is to check the financial pages of your local newspaper to see what the daily rate for purchasing American dollars with Canadian is, and to inquire at your bank.

You should also talk to you insurance company. When you purchase the car, you should fax them the bill of sale and ask them for coverage for the vehicle when it is shipped back. This can usually be done by putting a rider on your existing policy for your other cars.

You will need a redeemable money order or certified cheque, or bank draft, in American funds to purchase the car. When I bought my car, I placed a $1000 deposit on it over the phone with my Visa card just to hold it for the few days it took me to get a flight down to Orlando. Make sure that your bank gives you some form of a redeemable cheque in case you do not happen to purchase a car so that you can return the cheque and cash it back in. If you do not know what car you are going to buy and the final price yet, I think that you should go to your bank and explain the situation, and perhaps they can arrange some form of a direct transfer of funds to pay for it.

I dealt with a company out of Toronto for my shipping, and they were experts at hauling vehicles to and from the U.S. The company was TFX international at (416) 243-8531. Ask to speak to Jackie or Wally. They picked the vehicle up from Roger's and it entered Canada at the Toronto Port of Entry, in Bond. It was even delivered right to my house, enclosed trailers all the way. Mention to them that I referred you to them, as they would be familiar with what I did.

It would be a good idea if you were with the car when it is landed (declared) in Canada, because at Customs you have to pay a $100 processing fee, and fill out a few forms, as well as pay the GST. You also get a Form 1 from customs, (they can fax it to you) and you take this to get your federal inspection and your provincial licence. You should talk to Jackie for the details and for a price quote. Since TFX International is a Customs Bonded Carrier, your car could be landed at a Customs Port of Entry in Winnipeg.

I can not give you any info on other transportation methods, such as by plane, since I never looked into them. Whatever carrier you pick, it should be bonded and experienced with dealing in cross border vehicle shipments.

I am not familiar with the Manitoba requirements, however in Ontario, I was able to get a temporary ten day tag for my car until I could get it licenced. In that time I had my local GM Corvette dealer perform the Ontario emissions test and safety certification, which are Ontario licencing requirements.

For the Federal requirements, the dealer installed a module that turns on the fog lights when the car is on so that I would have day time running lamps, and they furnished me with a document indicating that the vehicle was free of any factory recalls. The other requirement is a metric speedometer, which newer Corvettes have with the press of a button.

If you look on my website, check out the links to the Registrar of Imported vehicles, and Canada Customs. These can also be found at http://www.svao.org which is another website that I run. They can give you info on where to get the free Federal inspection. I think that any Canadian Tire store can do it. All they need is the Form 1 from Customs which the inspector has to stamp, your "recall free" document, and your day time running lamps.

Regarding the Provincial licence, just bring your local licence office all your documents, title, bill of sale, Form 1, and what ever Manitoba requires such as proof of insurance, safety certificate, emissions test (?), and that is when you pay your provincial sales tax.

Then go out and pick a cool custom licence for your car, and enjoy winning every show you enter.